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Minor earthquake on Bornholm on Saturday night
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August 18th, 2014
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Islanders get a little shaken, but most don’t stir
There was a minor earthquake on the island of Bornholm on Saturday night. The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) confirmed that a mild tremor hit the island at 00:36 on Sunday morning. GEUS is not fully staffed over the weekend, so the magnitude of the quake was not available until today.
GEUS said today that the earthquake measured 2.6 on the Richter scale and that the epicentre was about 10km off of Bornholm's southern tip.
Bornholm police reported that it received just four calls between 00.37 and 00:42 from residents reporting tremors. There were heavy thunderstorms occurring on the island at about the same time the quake hit. There were no reports of damage.
“The whole house shook,” said Allinge resident Rudi Larsen. "There was a thunderstorm happeneing at the same time, so I thought for a moment that it had settled just above my roof."
From north to south
Allinge is on the northern part of the island. Residents in Snogebæk, about 40 kilometres south, also felt the bump.
“I was awakened by a strong tremor, but there was some thunder around, so I thought that might be the reason,” Snogebæk resident Vera Holmslykke told the tabloid Ekstra Bladet.
Some said the quake felt stronger than the one in 2008 that registered 4.9 on the Richter scale.
Denmark is fairly frequently hit by small earthquakes, but major ones are rare. The last quake above 4.0 on the Richter scale was in 2012 in the Kattegat.
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